" I would like to live in the same soil as my ancestors, and walk under their trees, and do what they did, and think their thoughts. " - Elizabeth Lawrence. After 4 decades in Sweet Home Chicago I moved to North Carolina where my first Irish ancestor landed in the early 1700's. I'm an artist, garden designer and grandma blogging about my life in this " Southern part of Heaven " as Chapel HIll is called.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

THE WINTER WITHOUT END CONTINUES ITS MARCH

I know the folks in my old hometown Chicago will think it laughable what passes for winter here. Snow is not the problem, ice is. It rains then the temperatures drop and a thick coat of ice covers everything and everything comes to a grinding halt because of the dangers of walking and driving. Schools and businesses are closed. So far this winter we've had 3 or 4 snowdays, which is a lot for North Carolina.

In between the cold and miserable days we are teased with sunny warm temperatures in the 60's and even 70's. I've managed to plant ferns, violas, quince, forsythia, spirea, bleeding heart, heather, emerald green yew, cotoneaster, hellebore, creeping phlox and lily of the valley. I received my mail order of 70 assorted varieties of willow cuttings which I planted to form a fedge ( hedge + fence ).

Despite the wintry March I am enjoying watching the delightful heads of yellow daffodils in the woods. These are one flower the deer don't seem to touch.

From my window its also a delight to watch the many colorful cardinals, bluejays, bluebirds and woodpeckers share the food I put out for them.

Woody woodpecker can be seen clinging to his suet in the lower right hand side of the above photo. He and his redneck band haven't been drumming on my cedar wood siding since I provided his favorite treat.

We've had a lot of moisture in the form of rain and snow this winter and the clay soil is frequently waterlogged. I have a garden cultivator on order and will have a bulk delivery of compost and manure to start tilling into the ground as soon as Spring decides to come and stay. Of the many kinds and colors of clay I am fortunate to have a yellow gritty one that was formed from rock deposits. It drains better than the gray clay of Chapel Hill, one of the worse soils anywhere.